This weeks Arabidopsis Research Roundup includes four papers that focus on different aspects of plant cell biology. Firstly Ian Henderson’s research group in Cambridge defines the role of a critical component that determines crossover frequency in plants and other eukaryotes. Secondly Karl Oparka (Edinburgh) leads a broad collaboration that defines the mechanism of unloading of solutes and macromolecules from the root phloem. Thirdly Keith Lindsey (Durham) has developed a model that describes how auxin patterns the Arabidopsis root. Finally Mike Blatt (Glasgow) is part of a group that uses Arabidopsis as a framework for the study of ABA-signaling during stomatal movement in ferns.

Open Access
GARNet committee member Ian Henderson (University of Cambridge) leads this work that features collaborators from the UK, US and Poland. They use an experimental technique that allows facile analysis of recombination rates alongside a study of Arabidopsis natural variation to isolate a QTL that is critical for maintaining the correct number of crossovers during meiosis. This HEI10 gene codes for an E3 ligase (the targets of which are currently unknown) whose copy number is a key component in the control of recombination rate. Hei10 mutants have less crossovers whilst plants with extra copies of HEI10 have an increased number, especially in sub-telomeric regions of the genome. HEI10 is a highly conserved protein, demonstrating its important role to ensure appropriate levels of recombination throughout the evolution of eukaryotes.

Karl Oparka (University of Edinburgh) is the corresponding author of this study that includes researchers from the UK, US and Denmark. Movement of solutes and macromolecules through the plant phloem is key for the correct distribution of nutrients allowing for optimal growth. In this paper they discover that unloading of molecules from the phloem occurs via a set of specialized funnel plasmodesmata that link the phloem to adjacent pericycle cells. Remarkably they find that whereas solutes are constantly unloaded, larger proteins are released through these plasmodesmata in discrete pulses, which they describe as ‘batch unloading’. Overall this study provides evidence of a major role for the phloem-pericycle cells in the process of moving essential nutrients from the phloem into surrounding tissues.

Open Access
The work comes from the lab of Keith Lindsey (University of Durham) and developes a data-driven model that predicts the role of auxin patterning in the recovery of an Arabidopsis root following a perturbation of polar auxin transport. They demonstrate three main principles that define the role of auxin influx and efflux carriers in this process and also provide experimental validation for their predictions.

Mike Blatt (University of Glasgow) is a co-author on this global study that looks into the evolution of ABA-signaling in the control of stomatal closure. Although this study is focused on this process in ferns they build their findings on the analysis of transcriptional networks from Arabidopsis. Ultimately they find that the evolution of ABA-controlled guard cells movements are important in the adaptation of ferns to a terrestrial environment.

This Arabidopsis Research Roundup has five papers that includes two from the John Innes Centre and two from the University of Edinburgh. Firstly Kristen Bomblies’s group at the JIC have investigated the relationship between temperature and meiotic recombination rates. Secondly Veronica Grieneisen and Stan Maree have developed a mathematical model to characterise cell morphologies taken[…]

The first two papers in this weeks Arabidopsis Research Roundup investigate different aspects of the plants response to temperature fluctuations. Firstly Lars Ostergaard (JIC) looks at the influence of temperature in the control of fruit dehiscence whilst Phil Wigge (SLCU) investigates crosstalk between chloroplast and nuclear signaling. The third paper from Ian Henderson (University of[…]

Charles Melnyk discusses a new paper published in PNAS that describes the molecular events that occur during grafting. The paper is entitled ‘Transcriptome dynamics at Arabidopsis graft junctions reveal an intertissue recognition mechanism that activates vascular regeneration‘ http://blog.garnetcommunity.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Melynk_180301.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

This edition of the Arabidopsis Research roundup beings with a study from SLCU that provides a molecular context to the changes that occur at graft junctions. Second is a study from Edinburgh that reports on the findings of a citizen science plant phenotyping project. Third are two studies from the John Innes Centre that follow-on[…]

This weeks Arabidopsis Research Roundup begins with a study from SLCU that investigates the interaction between nitrate and cytokinin signaling in the shoot meristem. Next is research from Sheffield that studies changes to the macromolecular composition of the photosynthetic apparatus following the transition from dark to light. Third are three papers that include University of[…]

GARNet with support from the Bristol Centre for Agricultural Innovation and New Phytologist are organising a Gene Editing Workshop that will take place at the University of Bristol on March 26th-27th 2018. This workshop is designed to encourage interactions and discussion about the use of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in plant systems. We are encouraging ECRs[…]

The cellular mechanics of auxin perception and signaling have been well studied over the past two decades. The pivotal interaction that controls this activity involves the auxin-dependent contact between the TIR1 receptor and a family of transcriptional regulators called AuxIAA proteins. This interaction has been characterised at a structural level with the auxin indole-3-acetic acid[…]

This weeks Arabidopsis Research Roundup begins with two papers from Royal Hollaway University of London that investigate the factors that control leaf development in the dark and the control of PIN1 phosphorylation. Third is a paper from Bristol that demonstrates the translation of research from Arabidopsis into coriander with regard the control of the response[…]

Enrique Lopez-Juez (Royal Holloway University of London) introduces a paper from that attempts to answer a critical question in plant science ‘Why do plants makes leaves in the dark‘? http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/early/2017/12/28/pp.17.01730.long http://blog.garnetcommunity.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Lopez_180116.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS